Time After Time
by Bendy Linguist
Summary: Lily and James, despite their differences have one thing in common, stubborness time after time. In which James pursues Lily and Lily keeps some secrets.
1. Time After Time

The idea for this story just popped out at me when I was minding my own business today. I'm intending for it to be about 4-5 chapters. Your reviews would be appreciated because this is the first fic I've written in some time, also open to any offers for beta-ing! I'm on my Winter hols…so I'll finally have a bit of time to write something aside from essays!

In any case this is a James/Lily fic inspired by Time after Time by Cyndi Lauper.

**Time After Time**

A fiery haired Sixth year girl with an inferno of a temper stared icily down the stairs at the object of her irritation. "Potter," she said with an eerie calm to her voice, "time after time you ask me and time after time I refuse; what in your big headed, prank addled brain has convinced you that this time might be any different?" She crossed her arms in an unconscious imitation of McGonagall and mothers far and wide and waited with clear impatience for an answer.

James grinned a showy saucy smile, largely for the audience of Gryffindors paying rapt attention in the common room. He winked slowly, also for the onlookers, and said over loudly, "you once said you wouldn't date me if I asked you a million times, I'm going for a million and one!"

Lily let out an exasperated huff, threw her arms up as if pointing out to the heavens the things she as a mere mortal should not have to contend with and stormed off into her dormitory.

James' face crumpled at the empty stairwell but he composed himself before turning to the crowd who pretended they hadn't been looking and shrugged grandly before walking with a forced casualness towards the three other Marauders who looked amused, concerned, and perplexed respectively. Sirius tossed a chess piece he had just captured from Peter at James, who caught it unthinking, and grinned at his stubborn friend. "How many more times you gonna try this before you give up mate?" James slumped into an armchair with great force and glowered at his friend.

"Let him be," Remus scolded distractedly before James could retort, and went back to scanning through his charms notes.

Lily paced tight circles into the threadbare red rug near her bed, occasionally flinging her arms out indignantly. Alice motioned Cecily to do something about their furious roommate but the dark haired girl just grimaced. There really wasn't much you could do once Lily was in this sort of mood aside from wait it out. "Lily?" Alice ventured tentatively.

"What?" Lily snapped back shortly before visibly forcing her voice into something resembling calm, "sorry Alice, didn't mean to snap, but Gahh! He just makes me want to hurl things, and you know that is something I'd never usually do." Alice raised her eyebrow a little at Lily's statement, it was true James got her riled up more than usual, but she was known to also snap at textbooks and first-years on occasion. "That's alright, what did he do this time? Dip your wand in ink like he did in second year? Cut off a bit of your hair as a 'keepsake' like he did in fourth year? Try to look up your skirt like he did last week?"

"Worse," Lily complained, "he asked me out AGAIN in front of the whole common room!" Cecily rolled her eyes at Lily's dramatics, "he only does it because it gets such a great reaction from you. And anyways, anyone else would swoon straight away to have James speak to them as often as he speaks to you, let alone ask them out three or four times a week."

Lily's ensuing rant was cut off by Audrey who shushed them, "Darlings, I know you want to continue this chat but some of us have a Herbology test tomorrow, and I for one would like to get a passing grade." Alice groaned, "was that this week? I'd completely forgotten. Professor Sneezewort gives such strange tests too, I hope I have enough time to get some studying in." The other girls in the dormitory smiled at this, Alice was the only one of them who could pass a Herbology test without studying.

Remus looked his friend in the eye fighting very hard to maintain a straight face, "Ok Prongs, think of it this way. If you were playing Quidditch," Remus stifled a chuckle as James stopped fidgeting and focused intently, "and you kept shooting for the centre goal and the keeper kept grabbing the ball. What would you do?"

James looked slightly put out, "I wouldn't keep shooting there obviously, I'd try for the right or left goal, or create some kind of diversion, or…"

Remus continued again before James could completely turn the discussion over to Quidditch, "it's the same with Lily, your tactic isn't working but you keep using the same one."

James scrunched his eyebrows together and ran his hand roughly through his hair in an expression most often found on his face when he found bizarre questions set on a Potions exam. "You mean there are strategies for getting girls?"

At the sound of Sirius' guffaw and Peter's giggle James punched Sirius in a friendly way, "Padfoot how would I know these things, you may have girls falling at your feet but I certainly don't!"

"Only because you are always mooning over Lily, no offence Moony," Sirius replied. "A strategy then," James murmured, "well that's what Marauders do best!"


	2. The Best Laid Plans

Well here it is folks, chapter 2 and the plot thickens…. I'd like to thank Pinocchio for Beta-ing this for me and also thank those who reviewed chapter 1 (all two of them). Please send me your commentary and constructive criticism, I promise I don't get offended—I always like to improve my writing!

Enjoy…

**The Best Laid Plans**

Not since fourth year had Lily had such a peaceful breakfast, there was no owl post, no notes suddenly writing themselves in her porridge in brown sugar, no strange parcels, and no James Potter.

Some girls would be bored with this turn of events, some would be pleased that the annoyances seemed to have ceased, but Lily knew better, Lily was suspicious. However, as it was impossible to predict irrational male behaviour she did her best to savour the limited calmness by reviewing her notes about poisonous plants and their medicinal uses and chatting amiably with Alice and Audrey, Cecily was running terribly late as usual.

Just down the table she could see the Marauders as boisterous as usual, they were probably plotting something terrible, she made brief eye contact with Remus and he shrugged as if to say, 'there's no stopping them and I'm sorry for whatever it is they are about to do.'

James had decided that since Sirius claimed to know the most about wooing women, he was the go to source for information on seducing Lily. Sirius pondered the challenge resting his chin on his pointed fingers, 'Evans is a tough case Prongs, you've gone and roughed everything up by driving her barmy for two and a half years.'

At James' scowl Sirius patted his shoulder condescendingly, 'now if you had brought this case to anyone else they might throw in the towel entirely, but I am much more talented than that!'

Remus quirked a brow at Sirius, 'and what, pray tell, is your plan to help Prongs convince Lily he isn't a bullying git?'

Shooing Remus aside Sirius continued, 'all you have to do is show her how sweet and stupidly in love with her you are and she'll forget all about the bigheaded toe rag bit.'

Looking surprised at the intelligent statement made by his boisterous friend Remus began nodding before Sirius continued, 'so all we'll need is a few charms, a volunteer to transfigure into a giant spider, and a couple hundred flowers.'

Remus' plaintive cries that 'this will never work!' and Peter's worried expression at the maniacal gleam in Sirius' eyes when he said transfigure _someone_ didn't daunt James in the slightest. As they headed off to class Peter could be heard complaining, 'why is it always me who gets transfigured?'

Herbology was the calm before the storm. Lily was completely aware that the tranquility could not last much longer—because after all, she wasn't stupid. At least she got to write the test in peace, and she was reasonably sure she had done well. 'Alice, what did you get for that question about Wolfsbane?' she asked as they walked out into the corridor. Cecily covered her ears and made a loud humming sound, 'we wrote the test already, we are not going to discuss it, not now or ever,' and let out an undignified shriek as Sirius grabbed her and Audrey's elbows and steered them in the opposite direction.

'Just need to borrow them for a moment Evans, I'll return them intact…hopefully.' Lily cocked her head and looked for the other Marauders, whenever there was only one, something was usually afoot. She turned to find Alice and Remus deeply involved in a discussion about some obscure plant and she headed towards Transfiguration when she saw Alice shoo her along. 'Well that's two of them accounted for,' she said softly to herself pulling her wand out and walking cautiously down the flagstone hallway.

She walked for a long time and she felt sillier and sillier with each step. Nothing was jumping out of the woodwork aside from ghosts who waved cheerily at the Gryffindor prefect. Just as she had given up on expecting James and Peter to jump out at her unexpectedly she heard a loud clapping sound behind her. Turing to find an empty expanse of passageway she realized how bizarre a deserted corridor was in the middle of a school day.

When she turned once more towards McGonagall's class there was a large, many-fanged spider dripping poisonous looking saliva onto the floor. For such an intimidating creature he looked rather awkward, for lack of a better word. Lily tutted at him and grimaced, 'Peter,' she said evenly, 'you really should stop letting Sirius transfigure you, he might mess up one day. How would you like to be stuck as a giant hideous spider?' The beast lunged forward slightly in an attempt to look menacing, and it almost worked until two of his legs tripped up the other 6 and he flopped over onto his back.

If it is possible for a 8 legged many eyed spider to look sheepish, this one did before scuttling aside to let Lily pass just as James leaped out to defend her from one of his closest friends. Just as he made his entrance to slay the beast, flowers of all varieties began raining down on Lily in some sort of bizarre Faerie shield.

Lily tapped her foot impatiently, 'Potter, cease play fighting with Pettigrew and stop these flowers falling, I'm going to be late for class!' James smiled engagingly, and said good naturedly, 'well that didn't work as planned, you were supposed to leap into my arms and thank me for saving you from the terrifying spider.' He stopped the flowers and yelled for Sirius to change the spider-ling back. The only sign that he was disappointed was that he didn't ruffle his hair for the entire Transfiguration class, but once he had turned towards the class from Lily he didn't even notice as she picked up one of the stray flowers that had rained on her and put it discreetly into her robe pocket.

Thanks for reading! Please Review if you have a moment.


End file.
